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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · lash · wound · fork · spell · tear · pit · wax

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spell — letters
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com